Scouring pad

ABSTRACT

The scouring pad comprises a wad ( 10 ) of looped scouring wire. The wad is constituted by substantially concentric windings of the wire ( 12 ) such that it presents substantially the form of a toroidal ring. The pad has means for holding the windings together, said means comprising at least one binding strap ( 20 ) going around a section of the ring and disposed substantially on a meridian of the torus formed by the ring.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a scouring pad comprising a wad oflooped scouring wire.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Scouring pads are known, in particular those made of stainless steelwire of thickness lying in the range 0.01 millimeters (mm) to 0.5 mm,and preferably being about 0.025 mm. The wire is looped, with the loopsbeing formed, for example, by helically-shaped turns. To form the pad,the wire is rolled up so as to constitute a wad. The loops of the wirecatch on one another so as to give the wad a degree of cohesion whilealso conferring a cellular structure thereto (low density). The loopsalso form scouring surfaces that are needed to make the pad effective,for example in order to scour utensils such as dishes or pans.

By way of example, the wire is calendared between two cylinders whichgive it a flat section of given thickness; it is then pulled tight overa sharp edge and, while in this situation, it is moved rapidly so as toform the helical loops, as by a spring effect. Scouring pads of thattype are very effective for scouring. Nevertheless, after a certainamount of use, the wad tends to come undone, i.e. it tends to lose itsuniformity. The loops that serve for scouring purposes tend to separatefrom one another and to become flattened. As a result the pad loses someof its effectiveness and it is less agreeable to use.

An object of the present invention is to remedy those drawbacks byproposing a pad of the above-specified type in which the wad retains itscohesion for longer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This object is achieved by the fact that the wad is constituted bysubstantially concentric windings of the wire such that said wad issubstantially in the form of a toroidal ring, and by the fact that ithas means for holding said windings relative to one another, said meanscomprising at least one binding strap around a section of the ringoccupying substantially a meridian of the torus formed by the ring.

The wad is thus made in very simple manner and the loops retain theirprimary functions (holding the windings together, cellular structure,scouring).

The wire windings are held relative to one another by the presence of atleast one binding strap. The strap extends along a meridian of the torusformed by the ring, i.e. it extends substantially radially and it isclamped around a section of the wad that is defined between its innerperiphery (empty center) and its outer periphery.

On this section disposed substantially along a meridian, the strap isplaced around the windings of the wire and thus holds them relative toone another. However, the binding strap is preferably of small extent,and those regions of the wad that are not situated beneath the strapretain their cellular structure because of the spring effect of theloops against one another, and the effectiveness of the scouring effectof the wad is not affected in any way by the presence of the bindingstrap.

Beneath the strap, the windings are pressed against one another. Thus,at least in the vicinity of the strap, the windings remain connectedtogether. The loops have less tendency to flatten and separate.

The pad preferably has a plurality of binding straps placed around aplurality of sections of the ring, which sections are spaced apart atsubstantially regular intervals.

The presence of a plurality of binding straps is particularlyadvantageous. In the region of a binding strap, the wire windings remainpressed against one another. Even if the loops do become somewhatseparated from one another on going away from a strap, the wad does notlose its cohesion because of the presence of the following bindingstrap. For example, it is advantageous for the wad to comprise fourbinding straps spaced apart from one another at intervals of about 90°,or three straps spaced at about 120°.

In a particularly advantageous disposition, the pad has a plurality ofbinding straps together with a linking insert which is placed at thecenter of the ring and which has the binding straps fixed thereto.

The linking insert is placed so as to take advantage of the initiallyempty center of the wad. It forms a support for the binding straps whichare connected thereto. It also prevents the hole in the wad collapsing.

The pad advantageously also comprises a handle member.

This enables the user to handle the pad via said handle member ratherthan taking hold of the wire windings directly in the hand.

Advantageously, the handle member is secured to the wad via its centralregion.

Under such circumstances, the fixing between the handle member and thewad also takes advantage of the empty center of the wad.

Thus, advantageously, the handle member comprises two end portions whichmeet in the center of the ring and which are fixed to each other, or ifpresent, to the linking insert.

For example, the two end portions of the handle member may be fixedtogether by snap-fastening or the like, thus avoiding any need to use anadhesive or the like which would run the risk of ceasing to be effectiveafter the scouring pad has been used a few times.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention will be well understood and its advantages will appearbetter on reading the following detailed description of embodimentsgiven as non-limiting examples. The description refers to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic outside view of a first embodiment of the padin accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view analogous to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment using alinking insert for the binding straps;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing how the linking insert and thebinding strap are assembled together;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-section view on a plane defined by lineIV—IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view analogous to FIGS. 1 and 2 for another embodiment inwhich the pad includes a handle member; and

FIGS. 6 and 7 are two cross-section views in a plane corresponding toplane VI—VI of FIG. 2, showing two variant handle members.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The scouring pad of FIG. 1 comprises a wad 10 made up of windings 12 oflooped wire. The loops of the wire cause the windings to catch one withanother and, by a spring effect, they give the wad a cellular structure.The windings are substantially concentric so that the wad issubstantially in the form of a toroidal ring presenting an empty center(throat of the torus).

The pad has a plurality of binding straps 14 which bind together thewire windings over substantially radial sections of the ring constitutedby the wad. These straps 14 lie substantially on the meridians of thetorus formed by the wad and the sections that they hold together aredefined between the empty center 16 of the wad and its outer periphery10A.

In FIG. 1, four straps 14 are present that are spaced apart atapproximately 90°. It can be seen that the binding effect they have onthe wire windings is very localized and that the wad conserves, overall,an essentially cellular structure. Even the loops close to the bindingstrap serve to space the windings apart from one another whilenevertheless holding them together.

For example, the wire from which the wad is made is a stainless steelwire of very small thickness, lying in the range 0.02 mm to 0.03 mm, andof flat section, with the width of the wire being about 0.4 mm to 0.5mm. The loops may be helical in shape and they may be obtained asdescribed above.

The binding straps may be made of a plastics material or of any othermaterial that presents the required ability to withstand wear. As shownin FIG. 1, the straps need not be connected to one another. Each strapis rolled up and its free ends are fixed together, e.g. by beingknotted, welded, or the like.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the pad has a linking insert 18 placed inits empty central region 16. The binding straps 20 of FIG. 2 aredisposed in the same manner as the straps 14 of FIG. 1, but they arealso fixed to the insert 18.

As can be seen more clearly in FIGS. 3 and 4, the linking insertpresents substantially axial boreholes 22, i.e. holes that extendsubstantially parallel to the winding axis A of the wire winding formingthe ring that constitutes the wad. The first end 20A of the strap 20 inFIG. 4 is fixed to the insert 18, with this strap then being rolled upand extending radially outwards away from the insert 18 until its secondend 20B is engaged in the borehole 22 and is retained therein. Moreprecisely, the second end 20B has a retaining head 20C which is engagedin the borehole 22 and which is held therein by a retaining zone 22Aformed in the borehole 22, e.g. by a bead. The retaining means 22A and20C thus co-operate by snap-fastening with the head 20C being engaged byforce into the borehole 22 until it has gone past the bead 22A.

The first end 20A of the strap 20 is fixed to the insert 18 by anyappropriate means. By way of example, and as shown in FIG. 4, the insert18 presents a borehole 24 for fixing the first end 20A of the strap 20.This borehole 24 has a shoulder 24A and the first end 20A of the strap20 presents a retaining head which comes into abutment against theshoulder.

To put the strap 20 into place, the wire constituting the strap isengaged through the borehole 24 until its head 20A comes into abutmentagainst the shoulder. The various straps 20 shown in FIG. 3 are allinitially put into place in this manner. Once in this situation, theinsert is placed in the empty center 16 of a wad of scouring wire, andeach strap 20 is placed around a section of the wad until its second end20B engages in a borehole 22. The second end 20B of the strap 20 ispulled until its retaining head is retained by the bead 22A.

Provision can be made for the second end 20B to present a plurality ofretaining heads 20C that are spaced apart from one another so as toprovide a plurality of retaining positions.

The end portion of the strap which projects beyond the borehole 22 inthe insert can be cut off.

FIGS. 5 to 7 show a scouring pad which further comprises a handlemember. In FIG. 5, there can be seen the wad 10 and two binding straps14. The handle member 26 is placed in such a manner as to occupy anangular sector of the wad. In reality, the wad has four binding straps,and the handle member 26 forms a shell covering the two straps that arenot shown in FIG. 5, i.e. a shell that extends over an angular sector ofabout 90°. This shell thus covers both faces of the wad and the twoinside ends 26A of the shell meet in the empty center of the ring formedby the wad where they are fixed together. The embodiment shown in FIG. 5is compatible with both of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, andthat is why the binding straps are referenced both 14 and 20 in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 shows a variant in a section view and there can be seen twobinding straps 20 fixed to a linking insert 18. The outline of the wad10 is represented by a chain-dotted line.

In FIG. 6, the handle member comprises two shells 28 and 30 which aredisposed on opposite sides of the ring about a plane P extendingsubstantially transversely to the axis A thereof. These two shells arein the form of cones whose vertices 28A and 30A meet in the center ofthe ring. These two shells are then fixed together via their verticeswhich are snap-fastened one in the other, for example. In FIG. 6, thevertices of the shells pass through the linking insert 18. Nevertheless,this variant of the handle member is also compatible with the embodimentshown in FIG. 1 which does not have a linking insert.

In FIG. 5 as in FIG. 6, the handle member is held by being grippedbetween the thumb and the index finger, for example.

FIG. 7 shows another variant in which the handle member 32 comprises aknob 34 disposed on one side of the ring relative to the plane P thatextends substantially transversely to its axis A. Specifically, thisknob is fixed to the wad by a rod 36 which extends through the centralregion of the ring and which is retained in the linking insert 18.

The handle member 32 may be fixed by snap-fastening, with the rod 36being snap-fastened in the insert 18, for example, or it may present asimple retaining head 36A which is retained in the insert 18 while theend of the rod remote from said head is snap-fastened inside the knob34.

The handle members 26, 28, and 30 of FIGS. 5 and 6 could also be fixedto the linking insert 18 if such an insert is present.

1. A scouring pad comprising a wad of looped scouring wire, said wadbeing constituted by substantially concentric windings of the wire suchthat said wad is substantially in the form of a toroidal ring, the padhaving means for holding said windings relative to one another, saidmeans comprising a plurality of binding straps around sections of thering occupying substantially meridians of the torus formed by the ringand a linking insert which is disposed in the center of the ring andwhich has the binding straps fixed thereto.
 2. A pad as claimed in claim1, wherein the plurality of binding straps around sections of the ringare spaced apart at substantially regular intervals.
 3. A pad as claimedin claim 1, wherein the linking insert presents substantially axialboreholes, each binding strap presenting a first end fixed to thelinking insert, being wound around a section of the ring, and presentinga second end which is engaged in a borehole of the linking inset and isretained therein.
 4. A pad as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second endof a binding strap has a retaining head co-operating with a retainingzone formed in a borehole.
 5. A pad as claimed in claim 1, furtherincluding a handle member.
 6. A pad as claimed in claim 5, wherein thehandle member is secured to the wad via a central region thereof.
 7. Apad as claimed in claim 1, further including a handle member thatcomprises two shells placed on opposite sides of the ring about a planeextending substantially transversely to said ring.
 8. A pad as claimedin claim 1, wherein the loops of the wire are formed by helical turns.9. A scouring pad comprising a wad of looped scouring wire, said wadbeing constituted by substantially concentric windings of the wire suchthat said wad is substantially in the form of a toroidal ring, the padhaving means for holding said windings relative to one another, saidmeans comprising at least one binding strap around a section of the ringoccupying substantially a meridian of the torus formed by the ring, thepad further including a handle member which comprises two end portionsmeeting at a center of the ring and fixed to each other.
 10. A scouringpad comprising a wad of looped scouring wire; said wad being constitutedby substantially concentric windings of the wire such that said wad issubstantially in the form of a toroidal ring, the pad having means forholding said windings relative to one another, said means comprising atleast one binding strap around a section of the ring occupyingsubstantially a meridian of the torus formed by the ring, the padfurther including a linking insert which is disposed in the center ofthe ring and which has the binding strap fixed thereto and a handlemember that is fixed to the linking insert.
 11. A scouring padcomprising a wad of looped scouring wire, said wad being constituted bysubstantially concentric windings of the wire such that said wad issubstantially in the form of a toroidal ring, the pad having means forholding said windings relative to one another, said means comprising atleast one binding strap around a section of the ring occupyingsubstantially a meridian of the torus formed by the ring, furtherincluding a handle member that is fixed by snap-fastening.
 12. Ascouring pad comprising a wad of looped scouring wire, said wad beingconstituted by substantially concentric windings of the wire such thatsaid wad is substantially in the form of a toroidal ring, the pad havingmeans for holding said windings relative to one another, said meanscomprising at least one binding strap around a section of the ringoccupying substantially a meridian of the torus formed by the ring,further including a handle member that covers an angular sector of thering.
 13. A scouring pad comprising a wad of looped scouring wire, saidwad being constituted by substantially concentric windings of the wiresuch that said wad is substantially in the form of a toroidal ring, thepad having means for holding said windings relative to one another, saidmeans comprising at least one binding strap around a section of the ringoccupying substantially a meridian of the torus formed by the ring,further including a handle member that comprises a knob placed on oneside of the ring relative to a plane extending substantiallytransversely to an axis of said ring.
 14. A scouring pad, comprising: awad of looped scouring wire; said wad comprising substantiallyconcentric windings of the wire such that said wad is substantially inthe form of a toroidal ring; and means for holding said windingsrelative to one another; said means comprising at least one bindingstrap positioned around a meridian of the ring and a linking insert thathas said at least one binding strap fixed thereto.
 15. A scouring pad,comprising: a plurality of concentric windings of looped scouring wires;said plurality of concentric windings comprising a toroidal ring; atleast one binding strap for holding said windings relative to oneanother positioned about a meridian of said toroidal ring; and a linkinginsert that has said at least one binding strap fixed thereto.